Galvatron

Continuity:

Affiliation:

Function:

Alternate Mode:

Futuristic cannon

Weapons:

Particle cannon

Galvatron is a force of nature. Born from the machinations of Unicron himself, Galvatron is a focal point of power and madness given form. He is blind to all but his lust for power; his whims and desires can be sacrificed in a moment's rage. Not even his own subordinates are safe. Though he is not beyond the capacity for long-term goals, it is his unpredictability and his casual disregard for any and all life that strike such horror in friend and foe alike. Truly, the Decepticon leader is without any sense of empathy.

Galvatron was once Megatron, but was reborn from his death throes in a Faustian pact with Unicron. He retains the memories and spark of Megatron, but his personality was significantly altered after the near-death experience, massive physical upgrade, and reprogramming. And all that was before he went insane. The cause and extent of Galvatron's madness varies between different continuities, as does his physical power. Sometimes he's depicted as almost invincible.

He's more machine now than ma—oh wait, he was a machine to begin with. Never mind.

In 2005, after being mortally wounded by Optimus Prime during the Battle of Autobot City, Megatron was left to float aimlessly through space after being punted out of the overloaded Astrotrain by Starscream, who took advantage of his near-death state to take command. Drifting aimlessly, he was summoned by Unicron, who ordered him to destroy the Matrix. Megatron was offered a new body, a warship and new troops to command, so long as he destroyed the AutobotMatrix of Leadership. At first, Megatron agreed and was reformatted into Galvatron, a new, powerful fighter. Unicron then reformatted Galvatron's injured (or maybe dead?) troops into Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps.

Travelling first to Cybertron, Galvatron quickly retook command of the Decepticons after killing the traitorous Starscream in the middle of his coronation as the Decepticons' new leader. He then went to Earth and attacked Autobot City full-force. Ultra Magnus led him away from Earth, and Galvatron chased him to the Planet of Junk, where he defeated Magnus and took the Matrix, intending to use it against Unicron.

Galvatron could not open the Matrix, however, and as punishment for his treachery, Unicron swallowed him whole. Inside Unicron, he met up with Hot Rod. Though he initially suggested an alliance with the young Autobot against the mutual threat of his master, the Chaos Bringer mentally tortured Galvatron for his attempted treachery and then forced him to attack Hot Rod. Hot Rod eventually managed to wrest the Matrix away from Galvatron and open it, leading to his transformation into Rodimus Prime. Flush with new power, Rodimus hurled Galvatron out of Unicron and into deep space. The Transformers: The Movie

He has a weird tendency to aim at his own troops.

But this would not be the end of Galvatron.

The weakened Decepticons were subsequently routed by the Autobots and forced off of Cybertron, relocating to the burned-out world of Chaar. After eking out a living there in energy-deprived squalor for some time, they were visited by Cyclonus and Scourge, who'd finally decided to return the Decepticons to glory by seeking out the lost Galvatron. They found him sunk in a lava pit on the distant planet Thrull and managed to free him. However, the effects of the "plasma bath" irrevocably altered Galvatron's sanity chips, rendering him omnicidally insane. Upon regaining his freedom, he thrashed Cyclonus and Scourge and blew up Thrull. With one shot from his fusion cannon. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2

Galvatron led the Decepticons on many wacky adventures against the Autobots throughout 2006, though his insanity would usually lead to each mission ending in failure. (He loved shooting his own troops, for instance.) At one point, his derangement became so severe, the perpetually loyal Cyclonus was left little choice but to dupe Galvatron into taking therapy sessions (albeit by force) on Torkulon, the therapy planet. After nearly murdering an attendant during a word-association session and somehow building a gun in an arts and crafts class, Galvatron was deemed incurable by conventional methods. The doctors attempted to use living extensions of the planet to give him a lobotomy (much to Cyclonus's disapproval), but Galvatron broke free and murdered the sentient organic core of Torkulon. After that, he razed the entire planet's civilization, leaving them so broken it would take centuries to rebuild. Webworld

"Just like the good old times, isn't it Prime?""There were no good times, ya creep."

However, despite his insanity, he teamed up with the resurrected Optimus Prime to stop the Hate Plague. Galvatron wound up becoming infected by the plague and attempted to kill an unconscious Optimus Prime with a axe. Optimus woke up in the nick of time and opened the Matrix directly in Galvatron's face. The wisdom of the Matrix not only cured the universe of the Hate Plague, it cured Galvatron's madness as well. Grateful, Galvatron sanely declared, "There will be no war today, Optimus. You have earned Galvatron's respect," and called a brief truce. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

In 2007, Galvatron called off the truce and led an assault on Autobot City, searching for the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber. Although seemingly lucid during this period, he formulated what was perhaps his most genocidal and unbalanced scheme ever: Having converted Cybertron into a galactic dreadnought, Galvatron maneuvered it into Earth's orbit, planning to release the Plasma Energy Chamber's payload into Earth's sun, Sol. The resulting supernova would wipe both Earth and Cybertron off the face of the galaxy, presumably leaving Galvatron to gain mastery over everything left. Grudgingly teamed with the Transformer-Nebulan hybrid Lord Zarak, Galvatron was eventually defeated and sent tumbling through space, ushering Cybertron into a new Golden Age. After regaining control, Galvatron vowed to collect energy from disparate corners of the galaxy and return to Cybertron: "We will attack other planets, we will suck them dry! We will build a planet a hundred times more powerful than Cybertron, and I will rule the galaxy!" Zarak made it clear he intended it to be a "we" leadership. The Rebirth, Part 3

Japanese cartoon continuity

Note:The events of the The Transformers cartoon occur in this timeline as above, except that the events following The Transformers: The Movie are pushed back to 2010 (creating a five-year gap between Galvatron's creation and his return), and the events of "The Rebirth" do not occur. The Japanese animated continuity subsequently adds several new adventures into the timeline, both during the The Transformers cartoon and after it, as detailed below.

Kiss Players

After being hurled out of Unicron and into space by Rodimus Prime, Galvatron's flight path was disrupted by the Sparkbots, a trio of Unicron's servants who were already working to resurrect their master. The Decepticon leader crash-landed on the planet Earth, obliterating the city of Tokyo. This catastrophic loss of life destroyed human-Transformer relations and led to the formation of the Earth Defense Command, a governmental organization which drove Transformers from the face of the planet. Appropriating Galvatron's remains, the EDC reverse-engineered a fleet of human-operated "Autrooper" Transformers to perform this task.

As 2006 settled in, Galvatron's impact was revealed to have had an even greater effect than anyone had expected: The blast caused by his impact had scattered his Unicron-empowered cells throughout the planet's atmosphere. When his cells came into contact with other objects and animals, they fused with them, creating an army of monstrous creatures referred to as "Legion". This disastrous event also created the means to defend the world against Legion, however: When Galvatron's cells came into contact with human beings, these humans gained the ability to fuse with other entities containing his cells. With their Autroopers being the perfect candidates for this "ParasiTech" fusion process, the EDC began recruiting and training these "Kiss Players" as combat squads to battle the Legion.

Seeking to uncover the ulterior motives of EDC Commander Hitoshizuku Amaō, Kiss Players Marissa Faireborne, Shaoshao Li and Atari Hitotonari discovered the remains of Galvatron beneath the EDC headquarters. Amaō's plan to use the Legions to resurrect her daughter, who had died in Galvatron's impact, was foiled when all the Legions and Autroopers fused with Galvatron's corpse, restoring his cells and reconstituting his body. Galvatron's body was shot back into space, where it went on to crash on Thrull. Kiss Players

The Transformers manga

Galvatron had plenty of devious schemes up his sleeve throughout 2010, opening with the nutty idea of a spaceship that ate other spaceships, which Rodimus Prime promptly blew up. The Transformers issue 1 Galvatron went back to his roots for his next scheme, creating a clone army of Megatrons that he dubbed the "Megatron Military". Galvatron disguised himself as one of the Megatrons and controlled them remotely, making them an effective fighting force that the Autobots had trouble dealing with, until his disguise was penetrated and his control over the robots broken. The Transformers issue 2

Other plans included an attack on Autobot City with TrypticonThe Transformers issue 3 and an attempt to steal the Prime Energy of the planet FeminiaThe Transformers issue 5. On one notable occasion, Galvatron challenged Rodimus Prime to a one-on-one duel in order to lure him into a trap set up in partnership with the Quintessons. In the middle of the fight, the Quintessons' newest creation, an Optimus Prime/Megatron hybrid robot known as Guiltor, arrived to attack Rodimus, but Galvatron was shocked when Guiltor turned on him as well. Rodimus and Galvatron called a truce long enough for them to team up and destroy Guiltor, who, it was revealed, had been possessed by Starscream's ghost. The Transformers issue 4

After the resurrection of Optimus Prime and the curing of the Hate Plague, Galvatron hastily broke his vow that there would be no war, and he, Cyclonus and Scourge battled Prime, Hot Rod and Kup in space, only to be defeated. Big War issue 3

The Headmasters cartoon

In 2011, a side effect of releasing the Matrix's energy to cure the Hate Plague was revealed when the mega-computer Vector Sigma began to destabilize. Seeking to exploit this imbalance, Galvatron attacked Cybertron, his forces now bolstered by the addition of new Headmaster warriors from the planet Master. Four Warriors Come Out Of The Sky The arrival of a team of Autobot Headmasters repelled the invasion, but it was then revealed that the Matrix was hidden somewhere on Earth, recharging, and the race began to acquire it and use it to gain control over Vector Sigma. The Mystery of Planet Master Hot Rod ultimately succeeded in obtaining the Matrix and becoming Rodimus Prime again, and he and Optimus Prime joined forces to defeat Galvatron. Though beaten in battle, Galvatron did at least take solace in the fact that Optimus Prime once again met his end A Dream is Born, Double Prime

After several further schemes involving an electro-magnetic weapon and a metal-warping meteorite, Galvatron set his sights on Cybertonuron, a powerful new alloy being developed by Vector Sigma. The Decepticon Headmaster leader, Scorponok, advocated the destruction of the alloy to prevent the Autobots from obtaining it, but when Galvatron refused to consider the notion, Scorponok took matters into his own hands and had powerful bombs planted in Vector Sigma's chamber. Cybertron is in Grave Danger, Part 2 Scorponok told Galvatron what he had done, and the enraged Decepticon leader ran into the chamber to try and stop the explosion, only to be caught in the blast. Cybertron was reduced to a burnt-out husk, and Galvatron was left missing in action. Cybertron is in Grave Danger, Part 1

Galvatron's been getting into the energon goodies jar.

Galvatron was thought dead for some time, and during his absence, Scorponok proclaimed himself new Decepticon leader, only for Galvatron to turn up alive and well during his coronation. Return of the Immortal Emperor Galvatron retook command of the Decepticons and began a devious plot, taking the Decepticons on an series of interplanetary raids that saw them steal energy from numerous different worlds. Returning to Earth with a massive stockpile of energon, Galvatron confided to his most trusted warrior, Sixshot, that he intended to use the energon as part of a process that would transform Earth into a new, all-powerful, Unicron-like body for him, dubbed "Grand Galvatron". Additionally, he explained that this process would require only the best components from his most powerful warriors, making it quite clear that he intended to sacrifice Sixshot and the other Decepticons for this insane ambition. Aghast, Sixshot betrayed Galvatron to Scorponok as quickly as possible, leaving the Decepticon leader alone to battle the Autobot Headmasters in Alaska. Thankfully for the Autobots, their double-agent Punch had eavesdropped on Galvatron and Sixshot's conversation, during which Galvatron had revealed that his head was his weakest point. With this information to aid them, the Headmasters entered Head Formation and laid Galvatron low, collapsing an iceberg on top of him and entombing him in ice. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg

Galvatron would remain buried in the ice for over fifteen years, until he was resurrected by Dark Nova as the new and improved Super Megatron.

15 Go! Go! manga

Crazy AND toy-accurate.

At some point after 2025, when Optimus Prime had been restored to life once more as Star Convoy, the mobile computer Teletraan 15 traveled forward in time from 2005 to this era as part of a mission gather data to rebuild Teletraan I's damaged databanks. During her visit, as Star Convoy and Hot Rod prepared to battle Ultra Megatron, a transwarp wormhole suddenly opened above the combatants, and a massive blast shot emerged from it and struck Hot Rod. Badly damaged, Hot Rod could barely warn his commander as Galvatron, appearing from some unknown spot in space and time, descended through the portal. Tearing Teletraan 15's arm off, Galvatron gripped the limb in his teeth as he maniacally throttled Hot Rod. Teletraan 15 passed out and woke up some time later with the outcome of the battle unknown, though she remained haunted by images of the crazed Decepticon clutching her limp and helpless friend. 15 Go! Go!

Scramble City (toy version)

Note:This fifteen-minute, stop-motion, extended toy advert retells the story of the original Scramble City OVA with the addition of Galvatron. Created before the Japanese production staff were aware that Galvatron was a recreated Megatron, this OVA features the infamous gaffe that presents Galvatron and Megatron as separate characters. It ain't in continuity with jack, yo.

During a massive brawl between the Autobot and Decepticon combiners, Megatron took the upper hand. To counter this, Optimus Prime ordered Metroplex to enter the fray. Metroplex rolled onto the scene and towered over his enemies, with City Commander Ultra Magnus in tow. Not to be outdone, Megatron ordered his ownCity Commander to enter battle. Beaming down from the sky on a ball of light, the silent and menacing Galvatron stormed the battle. Transforming into cannon mode, Galvatron fired a blast of energy at Ultra Magnus, who quickly transformed to robot mode and engaged his foe in hand-to-hand combat. As the fight seemed evenly matched, City Commander Galvatron's city finally arrived to tip the odds: Trypticon! Scramble City

Marvel Generation One comics

There were multiple Galvatrons from various alternate futures who often time-jumped to give the Autobots trouble. There are between 2 and 5 different Galvatrons; the exact number remaining inconclusive.

Galvatron I

After being scolded by Unicron in 2006, Galvatron was ordered to attack Earth and destroy the Matrix. He ordered "Decepticons, to Earth!" but what he REALLY meant was Earth...1986!

Time-jumping from the year 2006 and freeing himself from Unicron's control, Galvatron intended to create a device that would be powerful enough to destroy Unicron in 2006. Galvatron brought Cyclonus and Scourge with him, and as an effect of time-travel, replaced three Autobots (Prowl, Ratchet, and Optimus Prime) in the timeline. Galvatron deposed his own past self as leader of the Decepticons and began construction of a massive laser cannon which he would then hide on Earth and unleash on an unsuspecting Unicron when the time was right.

The Autobots and Megatron weren't having any of that and briefly formed an alliance to stop the three Decepticons of the future. The plan wasn't going very well until Hot Rod, Blurr and Kup came from the future to help. Present-day Ultra Magnus also arrived to help and heroically kept Galvatron occupied as the future Autobots set-up a trap.

Galvatron mopped the floor with Ultra Magnus and returned to his laser cannon only to find Cyclonus and Scourge unconscious and Starscream missing. The weapon was then destroyed in a huge explosion. Galvatron emerged from the wreckage to see what he thought was Starscream (but, in fact, was an unconscious Skywarp in disguise), and in a fit of anger, blew him up. After a second he realized that if he destroyed Starscream in the past, how could he have destroyed him in the future? Figuring that he was in an alternate past, and thus, no action taken then would affect his future, Galvatron and his troops returned to their proper time. Target: 2006

Sometime later, Galvatron returned from the future (again following the destruction of Unicron). This time, he planned to stay in the past. In an initial confrontation with the Autobots and Decepticons of the present-era, Galvatron mopped the floor with both sides, establishing himself as a severe threat to all Transformers on Earth. Fallen Angel In the coming weeks, Galvatron constructed a massive magma tap as a means of gaining power for himself. He intended to siphon the energy of an erupting volcano to become as powerful as a god. His plans were interrupted by Ultra Magnus, Goldbug, and several Autobots who had travelled back from Galvatron's own era to capture him. Rodimus Prime attempted to manipulate Galvatron's time-jump device to send them all back to the future, but when he and the other Autobots slingshoted back to 2008, Galvatron inexplicably remained behind. It ultimately fell on Ultra Magnus to stop Galvatron alone. In a desperate move, the Autobot flung them into the volcano, and the two of them became trapped under molten lava. Vicious Circle!

Galvatron eventually escaped and planned to take control of the Decepticons away from Shockwave. He opened his plan by menacingly approaching the Decepticon base, compeling Shockwave to attack and try to drive off the futuristic Decepticon. Instead, after easily wading through Shockwave's defenses, Galvatron cunningly announced that he had been coming in peace, but Shockwave's unprovoked assault had made an enemy out of him. He did this to sow discord among the Decepticon ranks, who now blamed Shockwave for gaining them a powerful new enemy. Enemy Action! This prompted Shockwave to concoct a plan to use Megatron as a weapon against Galvatron. Salvage!

Galvatron’s time-traveling (along with that of the other Autobots and Decepticons) eventually caused a rift in time and space that threatened both the present and the future, opening a timestorm at both ends of the timeline that consumed the planet Quintessa in 2008. Space Pirates!

Shockwave unleashed his brainwashed Megatron on Galvatron, in the hopes of eliminating one or both of his rivals. Unfortunately, Galvatron managed to appeal to the suppressed personality within Megatron, and the two joined forces. Altered Image! Megatron and Galvatron forged an alliance and launched an assault against the combined forces of the present-day Autobot and Decepticons, the future Autobots and Decepticons, and the Wreckers and Mayhem Attack Squad. By this stage, Galvatron was consumed by madness and was able to overcome all resistance. Even severe injury and single combat with Powermaster Optimus Prime failed to stop him completely. His threat was only truly ended when the time rift itself lashed out at Galvatron ripping him apart. Time Wars

Galvatron II

Other versions of Galvatron

In an alternate future, a geriatric Rodimus Prime recounted tales of his exploits to a curious youth from his deathbed. He said that the Time Wars had changed the timeline so that Galvatron never went back in time, and had conquered Cybertron instead. He was last seen in a flashback to Unicron's third coming in the year 2010 (of that timeline).Aspects of Evil!

In the Earthforce timeline, a Galvatron claiming to be a different Galvatron from the original one snuck into the Autobot crypt and implanted devices that would read the memories of various dead Autobots. He accidentally revived them from the dead, and Wheeljack was able to imprison him in a "sleep mode". Within this sleep mode, Galvatron was forced to forever relive his worst nightmare (being dismembered by Rodimus Prime) over and over and over again... Perchance to Dream It is unknown if this is meant to be Galvatron II, the Aspects of Evil Galvatron, or a whole new version.

Dreamwave Armada comic

An alternate version of Galvatron appeared briefly as one of Unicron's heralds, along with Thunderwing, Bludgeon, Dirge, and Scourge. He rather impassively stated that he had killed "many" Megatrons in other alternate realities. However, he was ultimately destroyed by this timeline's native Megatron with the power of the Dark Saber.

IDW Generation One comics

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

After Sixshot's deployment to Earth, Nemesis Prime sent Galvatron there as well to make sure nothing would forestall their second coming. Devastation issue 3 From a hidden vantage point, Galvatron observed the Decepticons' desperate fight against the powerful alien army known as the Reapers. As Nemesis Prime's plans required Earth to survive, at least for a while, Galvatron took steps to prevent the Reapers from taking over and laying waste to the planet. After blasting an attacking bird-like Ravenous Reaper, Galvatron approached the Reapers' leader, Deathbringer, and unleashed the power of death that was his to command, turning the Reaper into living decay who spread death and disintegration to his fellow Reapers on contact. This turned the tide of battle considerably, and the Decepticons won the day. Galvatron then returned to the Dead Universe to await new orders. However, Nemesis Prime remarked to Jhiaxus that he suspects that Galvatron has his own plans... Devastation issue 6

Galvatron vanishes for a bit, keeping an eye upon his leader as Nova now Nemesis Prime battles Optimus Prime. When the chance presents itself, Galvatron opts to pull a Starscream and blasts the undead Prime, killing his leader. As the Darkness passes in to Optimus Prime, Galvatron steps from the shadow outlining his choices: give up the Darkness or jump into the Solar Pool. He explains how it called to him first, but was unable to resist the Matrix vacuum within Nova. With the Darkness Galvatron would then be complete. Optimus Prime decides to pass the Darkness to Galvatron, and then pass Galvatron into the Solar Pool. The End. Or is it? Lets ask the mysterious hand. Spotlight: Sideswipe

Universe Classic Series toy bio

At a time when the Decepticons were a scattered confederation of assassins and warlords, Galvatron arrived from parts unknown and quickly asserted his dominance. Crushing all who opposed him, he united the Decepticons into a powerful army "capable of threatening the entire universe." Rumors about his past were plentiful, but facts were hard to come by. Mostly the Decepticons simply cowered before his might, their fear preventing them from even thinking about following anyone else. Those few who dared to conceive otherwise, simply hoped that one day a rival would emerge who could best the tyrant.[1]

Note:It is unclear where this story fits in continuity, or even which Galvatron is being referred to. If one assumes the Classic Series bios to be an extension of the Classics comic book, then he is likely "Galvatron II," as that is the only Galvatron established in that continuity. However, if one assumes that the Classic Series bios are not tied to any particular continuity, then the identity of this Galvatron becomes likewise open-ended.

Controversy over identity

Some fans believe Galvatron is a psychologically distinct and discontinuous entity from Megatron, almost, or equally, as much as Scourge and Cyclonus, who demonstrate no continuity of memory or personality with their former Decepticon selves. This remains a topic of heated debate in some circles, in spite of a fairly unambiguous canon.

The Transformers cartoon

In the G1 animated continuity, Galvatron evidently still self-identifies as being the same person as Megatron, albeit with greater power and a new name. Although not making a point of revealing this former identity to his troops at large (perhaps to cast off the potential stigma of being a "defeated"/successfully deposed leader), Galvatron makes his sense of self clear when Starscream asks "Megatron? Is that you?" to which he replies, "Here's a hint," before obliterating him.[2] Later in The Transformers: The Movie when Galvatron is poised to crush Hot Rod's neck, he boasts: "First Prime, then Ultra Magnus, and now you. It's a pity you Autobots die so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction." Again, Galvatron is obviously speaking with no sense of discontinuity of identity or personality as he refers to past and current acts as both Megatron and Galvatron without qualification or distinction.

While some might contrast this statement, however, with his earlier line, "I, Galvatron, shall crush you, just as Megatron crushed Prime,", interpreting that such a statement implies a disconnect from his former life, this too can easily be explained by Galvatron's apparent reluctance to allow his troops know that he used to be Megatron. While Galvatron would have fully expected the knowledge imparted in the later statement to Hot Rod to die with the callow youth, the declaration to Ultra Magnus was made in public, with his troops (and, potentially, other Autobots in earshot) present.

Early story notes for the movie state that Galvatron is "a deadlier version of Megatron. Less bluster, more ruthless action". Further, in an early draft of the script, Galvatron reveals his "true" name--Megatron--to Hot Rod at the film's climax, with the implication that Megatron has merely been playing along with Ingestor's (the early version of Unicron) plans and has only pretended to be his willing servant, while in fact retaining his original identity and plans for conquest. The final version of the film leaves this a bit more ambiguous. Although, as noted, it seems fairly clear in the film that Megatron is playing the role of "Galvatron" that has been imposed upon him (even for his own troops) until such time as he can betray Unicron.

During season three, however, Galvatron makes little or no further references to his past life as Megatron, though this could be a side effect of lying in a pool of lava for several months and his increasing insanity. Upon meeting the resurrected Optimus Prime in The Return of Optimus Prime, Galvatron behaves as though simply picking up where he left off with his old nemesis from his Megatron days, as does Prime, saying that he knows Galvatron "all too well." This indicates that the Autobot leader is capable of recognising his former adversary despite the change in name and appearance. Furthermore, in Five Faces of Darkness, Astrotrain states that Megatron and Galvatron are "the same guy," implying that during Galvatron's absence, the other Decepticons (or, at the very least, Astrotrain) figured out what was going on.

Despite all that, a memorial of Megatron can be seen prominently in the Decepticon Crypt, implying that the Decepticons who built it considered Megatron to be dead. This could possibly be explained by presuming the Decepticons built the marker before Galvatron returned and seized command, though their window of opportunity to do so was rather slim. Starscream's Ghost

Japanese fiction

I hope you enjoyed that jump-kick, Magnus, because it's a very long way down.

Early advertisements for the Galvatron toy presented the character as an altogether separate being from Megatron, and in some cases, even being Megatron's underling. The second Scramble City OVA was a remake of the original animated version, albeit including the Galvatron toy for promotion. Galvatron appears to fight his nemesis, Ultra Magnus, as Megatron barks orders from the background. This is likely due to Takara wishing to advertise the toy as quickly as possible, without full knowledge of the character's history. To maintain Galvatron's mystique, he was given the function of "City Commander", with no indication that he was an upgraded Megatron. Continuing this trend of unintentional disassociation, very early promotional artwork featured in TV Magazine and Comic Bom Bom also presented Galvatron as a separate character.

However, this era was very short-lived. In all official Japanese fiction, including the manga and the Japanese-exclusive cartoons, Galvatron is locked in as an upgrade of Megatron. A retcon was created by writer Hirofumi Ichikawa for E-Hobby in order to explain away the bizarreness of some of these early story pages, detailing that the Galvatron seen there was actually a dimension-traveling Galvatron II.

Marvel Comics

In the US and UK Marvel comics, the various time-hopping Galvatrons all demonstrate an awareness of having previously been Megatron with no strong indicators of a break in psychological identification. Indeed, at one point, a Galvatron says outright, "Like Megatron? No—I AM Megatron!" The closest that these Galvatrons come to identity crisis are incidents in which a time-displaced Galvatron is confronted by Megatrons (or copies thereof) and does battle with his former self. Although in these instances Galvatron experiences trains of thought that suggest he sees Megatron as a separate being and/or the source of his madness that needs to be destroyed, it should be noted that these are not the musings of a calm, rational mind. In these instances, Galvatron is in the grips of a psychotic episode, which he generally snaps out of by realising that he and his opponent are indeed the same person.

A possible explanation for why (any version of) Galvatron retains psychological continuity with Megatron while his fellow Unicron-creations do not may be that Thundercracker, et al. were apparently already dead or in total stasis lock at the time of their reformatting, and thus it is widely speculated that only their bodies were used to create Cyclonus and company. Whether this indicates that they retained their sparks and merely suffered total mind-wipes (either as the result of recent death or by Unicron's doing), or if Unicron actually infused their reformatted bodies with new life-forces is unknown. (On the other hand, none of the other Unicron-created Decepticons have faced their past selves or deeds the way Galvatron has.) Megatron, by comparison, was clearly alive and awake at the time of his reformatting and struck a bargain with Unicron for "a new body", a deal which implied that his mind would remain his own.

Toys

Generation One

Galvatron transforms into a Cybertronic treaded field artillery unit (better known as a laser cannon) with an alternate hand-held gun mode (which was used in neither the movie or the series). Using a 9-volt battery, he has a light-up barrel in cannon or gun mode, light-up eyes in robot mode, and variable electronic warbly noises in any mode. Galvatron is notable as one of the most well-articulated toys in the Generation One line, with ratcheting shoulders and hips, as well as swivel waist, elbows, mid-biceps, knees, and ankle joints. He was also armed with a small, black laser rifle (also neither used).

The colors (and the overall design) on this figure are not accurate to the cartoon. Instead of light (or bluish) purple, a gray color was added on the face and most of his body. The figure comes with three sounds, not acurate to the cartoon, but still fun noises for kids to play with.

Galvatron (Decepticon, 2005)

Japanese ID number:D-62-S

Accessories: Laser Rifle, Particle Cannon, Particle Cannon connector

WHO CHANGED MY COLORS?! NGAAAAA!!!!

Called "Anime Galvatron" by some collectors, the original Galvatron toy was much later redecoed and re-released by Takara into a sort-of more show-like appearance, being primarily light purple instead of gray. (In the movie and cartoon, Galvatron's primary color was a sometimes-bluish purple comparable to the shades used by Cyclonus and Scourge.) His face mold was also slightly retooled, a new label sheet based on his cartoon details was included, and he was given new sound effects, including randomly spoken speech clips (in Japanese, naturally). It used two AAA batteries, rather than the previous 9-volt. Galvatron also came with the Matrix of Leadership on a chain to be worn around his neck, as in the movie. The Matrix included is a gold chromed version of the one included with the New Year Special reissue of Convoy (Optimus Prime). Because of the thick chrome application, it will not fit properly inside of an Optimus Prime or Ultra Magnus cab without some sanding to either the cab's seat divider or between the Matrix's grips. Meant to be worn by Galvatron (and not the collector), the chain included with Galvatron's Matrix is much shorter and more proportionate the one Galvatron wears in the movie.

Because more fans seemed to want a Galvatron in show-accurate colors than his original toy colors, Takara chose to make Anime Galvatron the standard release, while the one in his original colors was sold as the e-Hobby exclusive Galvatron II. (Ironically, e-Hobby Galvatron IIs are easier to find than "Anime" Galvatrons.)

Titanium Series

Galvatron (3-inch Robot Masters, 2006)

"This pose is too crazy, even for ME!!!"

Titanium Galvatron is a 3-inch-tall, non-transforming, die-cast metal figurine. He is based heavily on his cartoon model and has articulation in his neck, waist, shoulders, and wrists. His orange cannon is also removable from his arm.

Universe (2008)

Galvatron (Deluxe, 2008)

Accessories: Missile

"In one mode, I'm grey, you think you got my continuity figured out... then WAAAAAA I transform into purple. See? I'm a lunatic."

Galvatron transforms into a tank reminiscent of the Israel Weapons Industries Merkava main battle tank. The tank shows very little purple on its hull, presumably to keep it a reasonably realistic representation of a real-life tank. The tank likewise has a giant translucent orange laser cannon that can fire a translucent orange missile, also keeping in the spirit of realistic alt-modes. Upon transforming to robot mode, it looks much more like the violently insane Decepticon leader we all know and love, and shows larger areas of metallic purple. Oddly enough, the vehicle mode's wheels are molded in the same translucent orange as the cannon, and then painted over with a different shade of orange. On the tank turret is the slogan "GALV-25," in reference to the franchise's 25th anniversary.

The toy includes two extra "feet," which are an undocumented feature with no discernible function and no involvement in the toy's modes or transformation; allegedly they were installed by TakaraTomy to allow for an intermediate "walking tank" mode. Hasbro later confirmed this in an online fan Q/A where they revealed that the mold was originally intended to be a voyager size mold, but was later changed to a deluxe. The change in size made Hasbro scrap the idea of the walker mode, but parts of that walker mode were still left in the design. The remaining parts were then deliberately ignored by Hasbro in the instruction manual on the grounds that they looks completely ridiculous. The "feet" are, however, sculpted in the likeness of Galvatron's shoulder pylons, implying that the designers might have intended for them to also be extended in robot mode somehow.

Henkei! Henkei!

The turret's shiny.

Galvatron (Deluxe, 2008)

Japanese ID number:D-06

Accessories: Missile

Henkei! Henkei! Galvatron is a redeco of Universe Galvatron. As with all Henkei releases, TakaraTomy have attempted to make the toy better resemble his cartoon counterpart, so most of the bright orange plastic from the Universe toy is now purple or grey. The shade of purple used on Henkei Galvatron is the lighter, lavender shade commonly seen on Takara's Galvatron toys, rather than the deeper purple seen on Hasbro's Galvatron toys.

Galvatron features vacuum-metallized plastic, though in Galvatron's case it is the most random and illogical usage of the gimmick yet in the Henkei toyline. Galvatron's entire tank turret and the equipment on the vehicle side skirts are vacuum-metallized silver, making him one hell of a blinging tank.

Merchandise

A Galvatron watch was released in the 1980s in Japan. It was subsequently rereleased in 1990s by Takara as merchandise for the Generation 2 line in the USA. The watch featured Galvatron's torso with a clock in his chest. It included a mechanism whereby when a lever was pushed, the tiny Galvatron torso "transformed" into a full tiny Galvatron figure complete with legs, standing up on the watch band. The figure cannot be removed from the watch, but the arms do rotate.

Super Hybrid Model

Super Hybrid Model Galvatron was the exclusive toy for BotCon Japan 1997. It is a vinyl figure about 8" tall, styled after his Studio OX-modified animation model; of the original intended SHBM roster, this is the only one to have ever been officially released. This figure was initially available in two versions: "standard" purple and a translucent orange "lava bath" version limited to 100 pieces. In subsequent years, at least two more versions of this figure would be released for online sale: one that replaced the orange paint on the cannon barrel with an orange molded plastic piece, and another that replaced the entire purple body coloration with royal blue.

Super Collection Figure

Galvatron (2001, 2002)

PVC in this case means Probably Very Crazy.

Galvatron was part of the second "Act" of Takara's Super Collection Figures, a soft-plastic PVC of his cartoon model in both full-color and all-clear plastics, one each per case of twelve. A metallic-painted version of this figure was one of the chase items in act 6. The SCF Galvatron was later released as part of the Heroes of Cybertron series, cast entirely in clear-red plastic then painted over (giving it a lightpipe-like glowing eye effect). He was only available in the third wave of the line.

Transformers Generation One Bottlecap Collection

Kabaya released a set of 12 non-articulated G1 figures affixed at their feet to screw-on bottlecaps. Galvatron was painted entirely in greys, like all the figures except Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Robot Heroes

Destron Babies, will make your dreams come true...

Sunstreaker vs. Galvatron (2-pack, 2008)

Notes

Basically, Galvatron killed himself in the comics. He told everyone he was an updated form of Megatron. However, it seems due to the rip in the Fabric of Space and Time he was ripped to shredds. Also Megatron then never became Galvatron in the comics. He was updated to a G2 form and that was it. So Galvatron was a liar or he killed himself. Reason because, there was no reason for Megatron to become Galvatron after he made peace with Optimus Prime. Good going Galvatron. Now I wonder what would happen if he didn't go back in time.

According to Teletraan II's secret files, Galvatron was reformed from Megatron by Unicron in an attempt to bolster the Decepticon's strength and to lead the Decepticons into a new era. The fact that this information conflicts with the events as depicted in the movie may say something about the quality of the Autobot's intelligence regarding the Decepticon cause. It all went downhill after Prime died.

A Galvatron Action Master was planned at one point, but apparently went no further than a concept sketch. It is only vaguely similar to Galvatron's normal appearance and may possibly have been a "powered up" Galvatron of some sort.

A triple changer was proposed which would switch between a very awkward Galvatron, Megatron, and a Walther P-38 handgun with added futuristic silencer and laser sight. It is notable that the strange "Reverse Megatron" design has a mild resemblance to the also unproduced Galvatron Action Master, especially in the chest design.

Galvatron's toy bio was apparently written with the intention of him being a new character who coexisted with Megatron; he has a rank of 9 and the function "City Commander," with no mention of him having once been Megatron. Given the omission of similar details from Rodimus Prime's bio, it is likely that this was done to avoid spoiling the surprise of Galvatron's origin in the movie.

Curiously, Galvatron's toy tech specs list his firepower at 9, as compared to Megatron's ranking of 10. This seems odd given that Megatron never showed any ability to perform single-shot disintegrations of traitorous schemers like Starscream. Some Marvel Comic bio material suggested Galvatron had nearly limitless power through Unicron. Even without this boost, however, he was still able to blow Cyclonus practically in half when possessed by Starscream's ghost.

The Galvatron toy's gun mode's only fictional appearances were in the UK comics, which featured it as a shrunken, human-scaled weapon, and a form that he assumed merely so that he could easily be conveyed by other parties, but never wielded as a weapon. It was also referenced in Dreamwave's More Than Meets the Eye profile of Galvatron, which Cyclonus describes as a weapon "none are worthy to wield."

Galvatron's toy bio states that his cannon is a "laser which emits chemically produced direct-current electricity." While this is a rather strange thing for a laser to do, it is a neat pun on his name. A galvanic cell, named after Luigi Galvani, is a certain type of chemical voltage source. Though Galvatron's toy's batteries are not galvanic cells, they do produce DC electricity chemically, making his toy one of the more fiction-accurate in the Generation One line.

In the Generation One manga, Makoto's watch has a transforming Galvatron wristwatch that was first available in Japan during the 1980s. However, at the time of the story, Galvatron did not yet exist in-continuity. The circumstances behind this are best not thought about.

When asked about Galvatron's design in an interview, Floro Dery's reply was, "But about Galvatron, my inspiration for him are those 'stupid people'."[3] ...Ooookay.

Galvatron's design went through at least seven versions, with the final version being a simplified version of one depicting Galvatron as having mostly exposed mechanical components.[4]

Just as Megatron's fusion cannon was sometimes shown in commercials to have a handle, Galvatron's cannon had a trigger on at least one occasion (during "The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2"). Galvatron apparently doesn't need to use the trigger, however, several times in season three, he behaved as if he was, holding his cannon with his fist vertically, rather than horizontally, while having one finger in front of the others... go figure.

It is also relevant that Unicron offered Megatron "a new body, and new troops to command". No such offer was made to the other fallen Decepticons, which may indicate that Unicron viewed Megatron's knowledge and experience useful in destroying the Matrix, while the rest were created merely to assist in this goal. It would seem pointless to make the effort to summon Megatron, force him to accept the deal and them simply erase all traces of him.

Why didn't anyone find a voice actor who could do Galvatron's voice like Lenord Nimoy did in the movie? Sure, the voice actors for Arcee, Blurr, Wheelie, Scourge and, until lately, Cyclonus reprised their roles for the third season of the series, but the voices of Hot Rod, Kup, Wreck-Gar and Ultra Magnus were done by different voice actors (which are indentical to the voices from the movie). It would've made more sense if Frank Welker played Galvatron in the movie and the series.

Galvatron's line to Starscream in the 'Transformers: The Movie' French dub was changed from a menacing 'Here's a hint'; to declaring 'Oui, mais plus fort qu'avant!' ("Yes, but stronger than before!") before victoriously obliterating her (Yup, Starscream was girl in the French version).

Footnotes

↑Some fans claim the "Here's a hint" line is a point in favor of Galvatron not being Megatron, instead of the far more likely intended affirmation, since Megatron "would never kill Starscream." However most fans would probably agree that Starscream had simply never pissed off Megatron enough to actually kill him before.